Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao leaves the U.S. District Court on November 21, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. Zhao pleaded guilty to a money-laundering charge. He pleaded guilty to crimes that potentially helped international terrorists, child abusers and drug traffickers, and on Tuesday Changpeng Zhao will be sentenced in a federal court in Seattle., the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
World's largest crypto exchange CEO pleads guilty to anti-money laundering charge in Seattle federal court Prosecutors said Zhao ignored financial laws in the pursuit of profits at the risk of national security. Zhao benefitted financially from his crimes, prosecutors said, earning $50 million by allowing unregistered and illicit actors to make transactions that supported a wide range of criminal activities around the globe.
Zhao and Binance did this by failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program which allowed unregistered bad actors to move huge sums across the dark web — hidden from federal regulators.